More than 500,000 UK bank account holders have signed up for Paym mobile payments since its launch last month, the Payments Council reports, and the organisation is now looking at adding additional proxies to the service, such as email addresses and driving license numbers, as well as making Paym available for other types of payment requests and international transfers.

Paym was launched in conjunction with nine UK banks in April 2014 and is currently available to 30million consumers with an account at one of the launch banks. A further six banks are due to offer the service later this year while Nationwide will join in early 2015.

Users can send person-to-person and person-to-business payments by simply entering the recipient’s mobile phone number — no sort code or account number is required.

To send money, user log in to their bank’s mobile app and select a recipient using their existing contacts or by typing in a mobile phone number. They then confirm they have selected the correct recipient, check the amount to be paid, type in a reference for the transaction and press send.

To receive Paym payments, users register their mobile number with their bank and then select the current account they want any payments sent via the service to be paid into.

“In terms of future plans for Paym, we are focusing on payments between friends, family and small traders as the core use for the service and getting this bit right first,” the Payments Council explained to NFC World+.

“It is true to say that the service proposition of a proxy database is a powerful and adaptable proposition. Part of the Payments Council’s role is to keep the UK’s payment systems, including Paym, under review to ensure we have innovative payment systems that work for all types of customers, both now and in the future.

“The evolution of Paym will be based on what customers want, as well as innovation in the competitive space from the banks and building societies that are offering the service to their customers.”

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